Activision Blizzard has submitted a lengthy defence in response to lawsuits filed last year in which the families of those killed in the 2022 Uvalde school shooting accused the publisher of “grooming” the 18-year-old perpetrator through Call of Dury.
19 children and two teachers were killed in the attack on Robb Elementary School in May 2022, while 17 others were injured. Families of those killed during the tragedy later filed lawsuits in Texas and California against Activision (after it emerged the shooter had played Call of Duty), alongside Instagram owner Meta and gun manufacturer Daniel Defense.
“This three-headed monster,” the lawsuit alleged, “knowingly exposed [the perpetrator] to the weapon, conditioned him to see it as a tool to solve his problems and trained him to use it.” At the time of last May’s filing, Activision called the shooting “horrendous and heartbreaking”, but noted “millions of people around the world enjoy video games without turning to horrific acts”.
Now though, as reported by journalist Stephen Totilo in his Game File newsletter, Activision has formally submitted its initial defence, spanning nearly 150 pages of legal documentation filed last December. In a six-page direct response to the California lawsuit, the publisher has denied “each and every allegation contained in the Complaint”, claiming, among other things, a lack of causation between Call of Duty and the shooting. Totilo notes the publisher has also asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit on the basis of California’s anti-SLAPP laws, which are designed to prevent the abuse of the legal system against a defendant’s free speech.